laying the cards

When working with you face to face, I like you to handle & shuffle the cards. Take the time to seek relaxation - be at peace. I want you to breath and let things go. If you can't shuffle then just handle and mix the cards the best you can.

I prefer if you don't turn or twist the cards. Try to keep them all up the same way. If cards come out reversed then I consider them to be significant, but I don't try to create reversed scenarios.

While handling the cards it is good if you can explain to me your reason for seeking a Tarot reading. All of this energy goes into the cards. When you are ready, then place the cards on the table in front of you and cut the cards into 3 piles with your non-dominant hand. Then I ask you to put them back together in the way that you want. This time you can use any hand you want.

The cards now pass to me and before laying the cards, I look at the card on the bottom of the deck. This card often provides some insight into the overall context or issue of the reading. (Sometimes that connection is not clear until at the end.)

For Tarot reading I use the Celtic Cross layout. This layout consists of 10 cards. The cards have the following contextual meanings: First card: The situation.Second card: What crosses the situation?Third card: This crowns the situation – your ideal or how you think it will work out.Fourth card: This is below the situation or is something substantially upon which the situation is based. This is something that has occurred in the past and is inextricably linked to the situation coming to be.Fifth card: This is the influence passing.Sixth card: This is the influence coming into being.Seventh card: This card represents you.Eighth card: This card represents something going on in your environment, relevant to this situation.Ninth card: This card represents your hopes and fears.Tenth card: This card represents how the cards see things working out – the outcome.

After reading the cards I draw a card from the Fairies cards (by Doreen Virtue) and also draw a Rune stone (by Ralph Blum) and read the meanings for both these elements. I find they are very good for confirming the issues - in fact it can be uncanny. They focus the reading and give insight to the main issue of the reading.

Choosing a SignificatorMany of the older authors recommend choosing what they called a Significator - a Court card that represents the querent. They would place this card at the centre of the cross and it would be the focus of the reading.

I choose not to do this. One reason being that it takes one card out of the reading. I prefer to allow the card to fall in amongst the other cards, if that is what it chooses to do. Another reason is that all of the Court cards can relate to you in some way. See the section on Court cards on the Card Interpretation page.

Choosing a Card from the LayoutI often find there is a card in the fist layout that I want to know more about. When I have completed reading the fist layout, I then take this card and place it at the center as my focus, and lay another ten cards, asking the tarot to tell me about this card.

I may do this one more time, if there is a card in the second layout that gets my attention. When reading for someone I will ask them if they want to know more about any particular card. If they are unsure then I will share which card I find of interest.

Another similar way of drilling down like this is to draw another card from the top of the deck and place upon the card of interest, asking each time for the Tarot to tell me more about that card.

I find that my first layout presents the situation and maybe some of the history behind the situation, and then some insight into what may happen if I choose a particular path. When I lay the second spread of cards, it takes me into the scenario of the influence that is coming. We start mining into the future. What is likely to occur if we follow a certain path. The third layout becomes very predictive because it is not just drilling into the influence that is coming into effect but we are considering the impact of that future influence.

Major Arcana cards in a LayoutIf you get 4 or more Major Arcana cards in a layout of 10 cards, the cards are telling you there are some significant events taking place in your life - opportunities for the growth of the soul.

The events might be intimidating and you might be wondering "Why me?" A lot of the time the answer to this question is that you put this sequence of events into motion when you chose certain behaviours before this. The important thing is that now you have the opportunity to deal with these issues and make changes in your life.

The Major Arcana cards provide a guide to the natural progression of things. The cycles of change are predictable. They move in an orderly flow. The chart below provides the order and keyword meanings of the Major Arcana cards.

Minor Arcana cards in a LayoutMinor Arcana cards represent the daily activity that you are involved in that may relate to the bigger issues. Court cards are the people or aspects of yourself that play a role in the scenario.

Consider how many of each suit are in the layout. The dominant suit indicates the dominant human function influencing the events or required to bring into play to manage the events.

Look for progressions in the cards such as a Page of wands in the past to a Knight of Wands in the future, indicating growth and movement to the next phase.

Are there sets of cards such as a set of like numbers - the 3 of Wands, the 3 of Cups, the Empress (Major Arcana 3)? In this instance check out the meaning of the 3 as there are things happening around the natural, fertility and creativity of the 3.

Three's also represent the first level of completion of an event or a project. We're now ready to move into the next phase of growth or development. The 6 represents the second stage of completion and the 9 is the final stage. 10 is the fulfillment of the suit.

Ace's are the beginning of something (Pages are too) - a new passion, a new way of thinking, a new way of feeling, a new way of acting. See the chart below for keyword meanings for the numbered cards.

Relationships between the cards in the Celtic CrossThe 5th card laid in the Celtic Cross represents your ideal or how your mind wants to see the situation. Compare this card with the 10th card, the Outcome according to the Tarot. Are they in sync? Are they in conflict? What is the nature of the relationship between these two cards?

The 9th card laid in the Celtic Cross represents your hopes and fears. How much will your mindset influence the outcome? Is this a self-fulfulling prophecy? Compare this card to the Outcome card and your Ideal card. The benefit of this is to understand your own mind on this matter.

There is a very good book on Tarot called "The Heart of the Tarot" (by Sandra Thomson, Robert Mueller and Signe Echols). They focus entirely upon the first two cards - the situation and what crosses it.

Compare the influence passing and the influence coming into being. Look for growth and development or backward steps.

Use your time with the Tarot to contemplate your options - take your own counsel. When reading for others, explain the meanings of the cards and the options. Give them the chance to make responsible choices.